Portable audiphone.



PATENTED JULY 11 E. W. SCHNEIDER.

PORTABLE AUDIPHONE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 27, 1905.

UNITED STATES Patented July 11, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

EUGENE WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE MEARS EARPHONE COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PORTABLE AUDIPHONE.

SPECIFICATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 794,686, dated July 11,1905.

Application filed March 27, 1905. Serial No. 252,288.

To all whom zit may concern:

Be it known that I, EUGENE WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing in the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in PortableAudiphones, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of devices used in assisting the deafto hear and is constructed so as to be compact, small, and effective.

The accompanying drawings serve to illustrate an apparatus suitable tothe carrying out of my invention; but I wish it understood that I do notlimit myself to the exact construction or arrangement of parts as shown,as changes may be made therein or other means employed operating insubstantially the same manner to produce the same effect.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a horizontal section through theearpiece or receiver and the handle. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectionthrough the earpiece, the handle, and the transmitter, the transmitterbeing shown connected to the handle through a detachable flexibleconducting-cord. Fig. 3 is a modification of the apparatus in which thetransmitter is permanently attached directly to the bottomconnecting-piece in the handle. Fig. 4 is a cross-section of upperconnecting-piece through line 1 4:. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of thelower connecting-piece through line 5 5.

The device primarily consists of a microphone-transmitter 1 an earpieceor receiver 2, and a hollow handle 3, having a metallic path throughoutits length and into which the batteries 4 are placed. The transmitterand the earpiece are respectively connected to the handle by means of abottom connectingpiece 5 and a top connecting-piece 6, made ofinsulating material. A metallic spring 7, contacting with the negativepole of the lower battery, is secured in place by means of a screw 8,which threads into the metallic female plug 9 in the piece 5. A metallicside spring 10, Fig. 5, contacting with the metallic path in the handle,is secured in a groove by means of screw 11,'which comes into contactwith the female plug 12. A plug-handle 13, made of insulating material,is provided, to which are secured two metallic male plugs 1 1 and 15,which engage the female plugs 9 and 12. Two wires 27 and 28, leading outof the plug-handle to the transmitter, are connected to the male plugsby means of the screws 16. The top connecting-piece is provided with aside spring 17 Fig. 4:, which contacts with the metallic path in thehandle and is kept in place by a screw 17 which holds down thereturn-wire in contact with the side spring. A metallic dowel 18,contacting with the positive end of the upper battery, goes through theaxis of the upper connecting-piece. A post 19 is screwed into dowel 18,hearing a lock-nut 20, which secures the earpiece against the piece 6. Ascrew 21 screws into the top of post 19 and holds in place two wiresleading to the electromagnets. The earpiece is provided with a permanentmagnet 22, to which are secured the electromagnets 23, the poles ofwhich are turned up at a right angle and terminate in close proximity tothe diaphragm.

The operation of the device will be easily understood. When the circuitis closed, the electrical current. generated in the batteries will passupward through the dowel 18 into the post 19, and hence throughdistributingwires into each of the electromagnets thus connected inparallel. The current will then pass out of the magnets through theleading-out wires, as shown on Fig. 1. These Wires are connected to oneof the plates of a switch 25, the closing member of which is the knife24. The return-wire is connected to the other plate of the switch andleads the current to the side spring 17 and through the metallic path inthe handle to the side spring 10, Figs. 1 and 2. The current then passesthrough screw 11 and female and male plugs 12 and 15 to flexibleconductor 27, which leads to the electrode of themicrophone-transmitter. The current passes from the electrode to thediaphragm and returns to the negative pole of the battery by means ofcord 28, male plug 14:, female plug 9, and contact-spring 7 The currentis closed by means of the switch-handle 26, placed on the outside of theearpiece. It is needless to explain that in this manner the sound-Wavesimpinging on the diaphragm of the transmitter will be reproduced to theear by the receiver.

In Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown the transmitter connected to the lowerconnecting-piece by means of a flexible cord. In Fig. 3 the transmitteris shown as secured directly to the connecting-piece. The transmittermay be detached from the handle by pulling the male plugs out of thefemale plugs, or it may be fixed by maintaining the male plugs in placeby set-screws or any other means. In the case where the transmitter isdetachable the switch may be omitted, for the withdrawal of the plugswill immediately break the circuit; but when the transmitter is fixed aswitch of any approved design must be placed in the circuit. When noswitch is used, the leadingout wires from the electromagnets aredirectly connected to the return-wires, the circuit being the same aswhen the switch is used.

Although I have shown a metallic handle, I Wish it understood that it isunnecessary to make the handle entirely of metal. It is sufficient tohave a conducting-path through it, so that the circuit from thetransmitter to the earpiece may properly be made through the handle.

I do not wish to claim any particular form of microphone-transmitter orearpiece, as they do not form a part of my present invention.

What I claim is In a portable audiphone, a hollow handle havingaconducting-path, a battery within the handle, a microphone-transmitterattached to one end of the handle, an earpiece attached to the other endof the handle, a connecting-piece of insulating material at each end ofthe handle, and means in each connecting-piece to make contact with thebattery and the conducting-path in the handle so as to secure a circuitbetween the microphone-transmitter and the earpiece.

In witness whereof I affix my signature in the presence of twoWitnesses.

EUGENE WILLIAM SCHNEIDER. -Witnesses:

JAS. Gr. PRATT, E. O. SHAPPERT.

